Michigan Supreme Court rules sex discrimination ban includes sexual orientation

Is discrimination because of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity a form of discrimination “because of sex”? For over 50 years, courts interpreting laws banning discrimination because of sex said “No.” But in 2020, the Supreme Court said “Yes,” in Bostock v. Clayton County, answering the question whether a federal statute, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, would apply when employers fire a person because they are gay or trans. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, wrote that “it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” He based his analysis on the plain language of the statute prohibiting discrimination against an individual because of their sex.

On July 28, Michigan’s Supreme Court interpreted the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), which forbids discrimination because of sex, to encompass sexual orientation discrimination claims, by a vote of 5-2. While the court was not bound by legal precedent to do so, and in fact its decision overrules a 1993 ruling by the state’s court of appeals, the majority of the court found the US Supreme Court’s reasoning to be persuasive enough to justify overruling the prior Michigan precedent, perhaps the first time a state’s highest court has done so, although some lower level courts in other states have also done so.

Source: Michigan Supreme Court rules sex discrimination ban includes sexual orientation

People planning for pregnancy overcharged, discriminated against, obsetricians’ group claims – ABC News

A national obstetricians’ group wants the Human Rights Commission to intervene so people are no longer charged the highest rate for pregnancy care.

Source: People planning for pregnancy overcharged, discriminated against, obsetricians’ group claims – ABC News

Youth | Lost In Transition

We demand a Parliamentary Inquiry into Gender-Affirming ‘Care’.

Gender identity affirmation is marketed as ‘being your authentic self’ it’s based on the idea that ‘you were born in the wrong body‘ and requires therefore ‘gender affirming care;’ pharmaceutical products; puberty blockers, hormones and extreme body modifying surgery to achieve an appearance matching one’s “gender identity”: a subjectively experienced inner sense of self as the gender opposite to one’s actual sex of male or female.

There is a new industry around gender affirming care, and when made mandatory in law via conversion therapy bans it ensures the purchase of hormones and drugs throughout a youth’s lifetime. This is highly profitable for the pharmaceutical industry, doctors, and LGBT+ organisations that are funded to market this branding promoting transgenderism and prioritising the ‘T’ over the LGB.​

But the surge in young Australian & New Zealanders particularly young girls identifying as transgender means that the number of people harmed by automatic gender-affirmation will increase.

Source: Youth | Lost In Transition

ACON: Exposed – ACON’s influence and where it leads

The ACON: Exposed project is lead by Australian feminists and gender critical activists.  ACON has used its Pride in Diversity scheme to influence the culture in Australian government and media, including the ABC and SBS. Pride in Diversity has almost 300 paid members, over 60 are Australian government agencies.Including trans-identified males in female spaces causes a conflict with women’s rights. When these agencies are developing policies and implementing laws, they turn to ACON for advice about handling transgender inclusion. This has lead to removal of women’s rights by stealth.

 

Source: ACON: Exposed – ACON’s influence and where it leads

Canberrans to have access to free abortions under new ACT government commitment – ABC News

From mid-next year, ACT residents will have access to free medical and surgical abortions up to 16 weeks of gestation..

  • ACT Minister for Women Yvette Berry says the move will allow Canberrans “to make a choice … without being influenced by financial barriers”
  • Free access to abortion services will also be available to ACT residents without a Medicare card
  • The government expects the services will be available without out-of-pocket costs by mid-next year

Source: Canberrans to have access to free abortions under new ACT government commitment – ABC News

US justice department sues Idaho over six-week abortion ban | Australasian Lawyer

This is the Biden administration’s first legal action against states that have restricted access to the procedure

The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Idaho over the state’s law banning abortion after six weeks, saying that federal law requires doctors and hospitals to perform medically required abortions to preserve the pregnant person’s health.

Source: US justice department sues Idaho over six-week abortion ban | Australasian Lawyer

Hunger and poverty affecting more women than men, new study finds 

Around the world, the hunger gap between women and men is rising, with at least 150 million more women going hungry than men in 2021.

According to a new report from international aid organisation CARE, the world-wide food security crisis has been exacerbated by climate change, the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — widening the gap between the number of women going hungry compared to men.

The latest CARE report, written by Miriam Selva and Emily Janoch from the US branch, showed women were critical players across all levels of food production, despite experiencing more hunger than men.

Investing in female farmers has improved food security, while female controlled crops have corresponded with an increase in overall household food consumption.

Though women are often not recognised as farmers, their land ownership is connected to income growth and improved child nutrition.

Women in rural areas suffer a “triple burden” of being productive, bearing the responsibility for unpaid care work, and connecting communities.

“Gender equality is highly connected to food security at a local, national, and global level,” the report stated. “The more gender inequality there is in a country, the hungrier people are.”

“The less gender inequality there is, the greater the food security,” the report concludes.

Source: Hunger and poverty affecting more women than men, new study finds 

Queensland parliament flags major changes to birth certificates for LGBT people | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman had earlier flagged legislative reforms to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act after outcry from LGBT activists.

One of these included potentially removing the requirement for a person to undergo sex reassignment surgery to change the sex listed on their birth certificate.

At a Budget Estimates hearing on Wednesday, Ms Fentiman confirmed an exposure draft of the Bill had been completed.

“The limit of one name change per year can also be a roadblock for trans people, and should be increased or given exceptions for name changes with reason of gender affirmation.”

Besides Queensland, NSW is the only other state which requires people to have undergone surgery to change their birth certificate gender.

Source: Queensland parliament flags major changes to birth certificates for LGBT people | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Lesbian in bid to ban anyone born male or ‘with penises’

EXCLUSIVE: A lesbian who wants to ban men and trans women from her same-sex only events is preparing to take her fight to the High Court in what could be a test case for Australia.

“I’m a homosexual woman who wants to meet other women, not men with penises,” Ms Hoyle, from Launceston, said.
“When I first came out of the closet as a girl, it was the golden era of lesbianism, we had our own spaces, dance nights for females.
“But all of the sudden they’ve disappeared. I don’t understand it. We are sick of having our rights erased.”
Transforming Tasmania has previously commented on this case, saying excluding trans women from lesbian events was discriminatory and was denying the reality of the existence of trans women.
Ms Hoyle took her case to the The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) and is awaiting its findings on the matter.
Anna Kerr from the Feminist Legal Clinic, representing Ms Hoyle, said by refusing the exemption, the Commissioner may have unwittingly demonstrated the Tasmanian legislation is inconsistent with Commonwealth sex discrimination legislation and therefore invalid.
But the tribunal can still quash the decision because the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act allows for exceptions where discrimination is for the benefit of a disadvantaged group, such as lesbians, who have a special need to exclude males.

Source: Lesbian in bid to ban anyone born male or ‘with penises’

Court: ‘Transgender’ Individual Attempted to Murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh – Women Are Human

US — Maryland. The male individual accused of traveling from his California home to the suburbs of Washington, DC with the intent of murdering Justice Brett Kavanaugh “identifies as a woman,” court documents show. Nicholas John Roske used the pseudonym ‘Sophie’ on Reddit forums, where he described himself as “a 24 year old MtF [male-to-female] college graduate looking for a woman to cuddle and watch movies with… If this turns into making out, etc that’s cool.” On Discord, the usernames of Mr Roske’s two accounts were Sophie42#6535 and AmericanSophie#1595.

According to court documents, Mr Roske told a detective that he sought to “give his life a purpose” by stopping the Supreme Court from overturning Roe v Wade, a landmark 1973 decision which found that the nation’s Constitution conferred the right to an abortion. Roe v Wade has since been overturned.

Source: Court: ‘Transgender’ Individual Attempted to Murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh – Women Are Human